Use the Shortcuts app on your iPhone or iPad

The Shortcuts app lets you create custom shortcuts with multiple steps that you can use with your favorite apps. Choose from hundreds of examples in the Gallery. Or drag and drop actions to create your very own shortcuts.

About the Shortcuts app

Shortcuts in iOS 12 let you get things done with your apps, with just a tap or by asking Siri. In addition to running shortcuts available on your iOS device, you can use the Shortcuts app to create custom shortcuts, simplifying everyday tasks by combining steps across multiple apps.

What's a shortcut?

A shortcut is a quick way to get one or more tasks done with your apps. The Shortcuts app lets you create your own shortcuts with multiple steps. For example, build a “Surf Time” shortcut that grabs the surf report, gives an estimated arrival time to the beach, and launches your surf music playlist.

What's an action?

An action—the building block of a shortcut—is a single step in a task. Mix and match actions to create shortcuts that interact with the apps and content on your iOS device, as well as with content and services on the Internet. Each shortcut is made up of one or more actions.

For example, a shortcut that posts an animated GIF to your Twitter account might have three consecutive actions:

Get Latest Photos finds the most recent photos that you took on your device.

Make GIF uses those photos to build an animated GIF.

Tweet automatically posts the GIF to your Twitter account.

Add a shortcut from the Gallery

The Gallery features a curated collection of creative and useful shortcuts. Explore the Gallery to check out shortcut possibilities and to see how they’re built. When you find a Gallery shortcut you like, add it to your Library with a simple tap and customize it to suit your needs.

To find the Gallery, open the Shortcuts app and tap .

Swipe up or down to see categories. Tap See All to see more shortcuts in a category.

To add a shortcut, tap it, then tap Get Shortcut. Or tap Show Actions to see how that shortcut was built.

You can find the shortcut that you added in the Library tab of the Shortcuts app.

Create a new shortcut

Open the Shortcuts app and tap the Library tab .

Tap Create Shortcut or tap in the upper-right corner.

Select or search actions to use in your shortcut. Then tap the actions that you want to add.

To rearrange actions, press and hold an action, then drag it above or below the other actions.

Tap to undo or tap to redo your steps.

To delete an action, tap .

To test your shortcut, tap .

To give your shortcut a name, tap , then enter a name and tap Done.

To save your shortcut, tap Done.

You can find your new shortcut when you open the Shortcuts app and go to the Library tab .

Edit or customize a shortcut

To edit actions in a shortcut:

Open the Shortcuts app.

Tap the Library tab .

Tap in the upper-right corner of the shortcut to open the shortcuts editor.

To customize the name and appearance of your shortcut, tap in the shortcuts editor. Then you can do the following:

Tap Name to change the name of your shortcut.

Tap Icon to choose a Glyph and change its color.

Tap Home Screen to choose an image from your camera roll to identify your shortcut when it's added to the Home screen.

Run a shortcut

To run a shortcut, open the Shortcuts app and go to the Library tab . Tap the shortcut.

You can also run a shortcut by asking Siri. Go to the Today View or Home screen, tap in the upper-right corner of the shortcut, then tap . You'll see several options to run your shortcut:

Tap Add to Siri to record a personal phrase that you can say to Siri to run your shortcut.

Turn on Show in Widget to access your shortcut from the Today View.

Add to Home Screen to add the shortcut to your Home screen.

Learn more

You can find more information about the Shortcuts app, including comprehensive steps for creating and using them, in the Shortcuts User Guide.